Strengthening Youth-Focused Institutions in the Era of Protests

Between August 1 and 10, 2024, protesters poured into many Nigerian cities to express their discontent with governance in Nigeria, especially as it concerns the implementation of neoliberal economic policies, which manifest in the forms of subsidy removal from basic commodities and services such as fuel and electricity. Such protest is not new in Nigeria. In the past two decades, Nigeria has experienced three major nationwide protests – the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protest, the 2020 #EndSARS protest and the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance. The dominance of the youth as actors and victims of violence during the #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria, the absence of structured engagement between the youth and government before, during and after the protest, and the failure of the protest to address the yawning demands of the youth draws attention to the utility of youth-focused institutions in Nigeria. Youth-focused institutions are not in short supply in Nigeria. For instance, the National Youth Policy provides an overarching framework for addressing the needs and aspirations of the youth, while the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) was founded in 1964 and given legal recognition in 1990 to serve as the mouthpiece of the youth and the umbrella organisation for all youth organisations in the country. Despite these institutional arrangements, the conduct of the youth, as witnessed in the recent protest in Nigeria, shows that youth-focused institutions are yet to effectively provide the required framework for youth engagement.

Drawing from the experience of the recent #EndBadGovernance protest, this edition of the Nextier SPD Policy Weekly interrogates the waning utility of youth-focused institutions as platforms for youth engagement, particularly in times of crisis.

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